Eveline de Klerk
Swakopmund-A 34-year-old woman tragically died on Sunday morning in the Erongo Region after she was tortured and sprayed with goat tick/flea medicine, allegedly by her 36-year-old boyfriend.
The woman, who was identified as Magdelenda Ganes, was severely beaten with thorn-tree branches by her boyfriend after he beat her up using his fists.
The couple, parents to one-year-old twins, was employed at farm Ovihitua in the Omatjete area.
According to Deputy Commissioner Erastus Iikuyu, the incident happened after the couple went out drinking together on Saturday afternoon at the farm.
He said that the suspect, after a couple of drinks, demanded that they return home, but Ganes refused as she still wanted to continue drinking.
“The suspect somehow convinced the deceased and they eventually left for home,” Iikuyu explained yesterday.
It is suspected that the couple started arguing before they arrived home, and the suspect allegedly started assaulting Ganes.
“The deceased was allegedly beaten with fists and thorn-tree branches all over her body by the suspect. She was then dragged several metres to their home by the suspect after the vicious attack,” said Iikuyu.
According to Iikuyu the suspect, after torturing the woman, sprayed her open wounds with goat tick medicine.
Iikuyu said that the deceased on Sunday morning told the suspect that she was not feeling well and requested to be taken to Omaruru for medical attention.
He then left the deceased and went looking for a lift to take her to Omaruru – however she died before she could be treated, on Sunday around 09h00.
The suspect was arrested and is currently in police custody. “We are currently busy conducting a post-mortem to establish what exactly caused the death of the deceased,” Iikuyu said yesterday.
The suspect is expected to appear today in the Omaruru Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder and domestic violence.